New Japan Pro Wrestling began their Road To Wrestling Dontaku Tour on Friday. As the show began at 5:30am EST, here’s a spoiler-free match listing for the non-nite-owl New Japan fans. Each match receives a Need To Watch Rating of 0.0-10.0
FIRST MATCH: Tetsuhiro Yagi vs. Yuya Uemura
Uemura is fresh off his NJPW debut on 4/10 and Yagi is desperate to earn his first singles win in his career. A fun and fiery opener. Uemura is one to watch in 2018.
Need To Watch Rating: (4.5)
SECOND MATCH: Manabu Nakanishi vs. Tomoyuki Oka
Oka continues to grow into a confident superstar. Nakanishi is his usual ass-kicking self. Fun nut inessential match.
Need To Watch Rating: (2.2)
THIRD MATCH: Ryusuke Taguchi, Togi Makabe & Ren Narita vs. Yuji Nagata, Tiger Mask & Shota Umino
Another match where the Young Lions stole the show. Nagata continues to mentor spectacularly. Tiger Mask looks more dominant than he has all year.
Need To Watch Rating: (3.3)
FOURTH MATCH: Roppongi 3K (Sho, Yoh & Rocky Romero) vs. Suzuki-gun (TAKA Michinoku, Takashi Iizuka & Taichi)
Shenanigan-filled. Your typical Suzuki-gun six-man.
Need To Watch Rating: (1.0)
FIFTH MATCH: Toa Henare & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano)
Fun, inoffensive tag match. Henare makes a case for G1 consideration. Tenzan is always a delight.
Need To Watch Rating: (3.5)
SIXTH MATCH: Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA & EVIL) vs. Suzuki-gun (Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado, Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.)
The foot soldiers of LIJ & Suzuki-gun got ample time to shine in this hectic 8-man tag. EVIL digs deep in his arsenal, while Lance Archer meets his toughest baby yet.
Need To Watch Rating: (7.0)
MAIN EVENT: Elimination Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Juice Robinson, David Finlay, Michael Elgin & KUSHIDA vs. CHAOS (Will Ospreay, Jay White, YOSHI-HASHI, Hirooki Goto & Kazuchika Okada)
Elimination Tag match with over-the-top rope eliminations made for a wild, unpredictable main event. Definitely the highlight of the show. Recommended viewing.
Need To Watch Rating: (8.0)
